Publicis New York Hires Its First Chief Experience Officer to Merge Technology With Creativity

John Biondi arrives from SapientRazorfish

Publicis New York hired John Biondi as chief experience officer today.

In the newly-created role, Biondi will lead the agency’s experience offering, partnering with chief creative officer Andy Bird and reporting directly to Publicis New York CEO Carla Serrano.

“Technology-driven shifts in behavior have made it increasingly difficult to engage people only through interruptive communications. While communications will always be important, valuable consumer experiences are a vital part of every brand’s ecosystem,” Publicis North America chief digital officer Dawn Winchester told Adweek. “At Publicis, we are putting those experiences at the heart of our approach. Adding this role makes this commitment tangible at the highest management level in our agency.”

Biondi joins Publicis from SapientRazorfish in Minneapolis, where he has spent the last four years, most recently serving as executive creative director and brand experience lead for North America. In the past, he has also worked in executive creative director roles for Modern Climate and Atomic Playpen, working with brands including McDonald’s, Target, Allstate, Harley Davidson and Citi.

“With John on board, we are committed to growing our work and portfolio in experiences. In partnership with Andy, we will offer our clients integration across their full ecosystem,” Winchester added. “Every CEO I speak with is looking for this capability, at scale, and we are uniquely positioned to deliver. Our belief is that our clients will improve their business outcomes with this model. And we will all get to do some fun and innovative work.”

She explained that Publicis began working with Biondi through a “Power of One” collaboration (Publicis announced in 2015 that every client would have access to its entire network of shops) and was “impressed with his vision and creativity.”

“His experience across a wide assortment of clients and technology is incredible and unique,” she added. “And as we spent more time together we were delighted to find that he fit very well into our culture. The chemistry of our management team is so important and he felt like one of us immediately.”

“I’ve spent my whole career exploring the possibilities that exist when you mash up creativity and technology,” Biondi said in a statement. “As I’ve gotten to know Carla and the leadership team at Publicis Worldwide, I’ve learned they are a group as passionate and ambitious about this pursuit as any I’ve met. I’m excited to join forces and help shape the work we create.”